Dannon Boston Duathlon
Sunday, May 20. Wrentham, Massachusetts
2m run/10m bike/2m run/10m bike/2m run
www.dannonduathlon.com
$6,000 pro purse

The Dannon Duathlon Series moves to Boston this weekend, home to one of the largest Coors Light Biathlons a decade ago. The third Dannon Duathlon of the year is also a nondrafting Formula 1 race with the run/bike/run/bike/run format.

The women's race should be a battle among at least four women: Sharon Knecht, Marjan Huizing, Heather Gollnick, and Andrea Ratkovic. All have had strong showings this year, including first year pro Gollnick and Huizing who are both coming off wins last weekend. Ratkovic had a disappointing race at Powerman Tennessee, suffering from an illness at the time. However, she appears to have regained her form based on her seventh place finish at the grueling Tour of the Gila stage race (cycling) two weeks ago.

As the winner of the last eight Dannon Duathlons, Greg Watson is still the men's favorite. At the age of 40, Indianapolis resident Michael Smith will make a rare appearance outside the Midwest. Smith has dominated Midwest duathlons and triathlons for several years, and finished third at last year's Dannon Naperville Duathlon.

Dannon Boston will also help determine which pros will represent the US at the Duathlon World Championships in Italy on September 19. Points are awarded in the first four Dannon Duathlons to the top ten Americans (10 points for first down to 1 point for tenth). Using the best three races for each athlete, the top six men and five women earn a spot on the US team. Current point standings are listed below.

Sunday's Pro Start List
Pro Men (17)- Greg Watson, Eric Schwartz, LeRoy Popowski, Daniel Ourada, Tyler Johnson, Peter Cutler, Richard Lee (CAN), Nick Fitzsimmons, Travis Kuhl, Brian Hughes, Michael Smith, Brian Barkhouse (CAN), Andrew Holton, Chris Tolonen, Craig Reese, Tim Bentley (AUS)

Pro Women (8)- Andrea Ratkovic, Anne Preisig, Tracey Swenson, Marjan Huizing, Sharon Knecht, Linda Gabor, Heather Gollnick, Candy Angle

Point standing for Duathlon Worlds Qualification (after two races)
US Men
1. Greg Watson - 20
2. Eric Schwartz 11
3t. Michael Tobin 9
3t. Alec Rukosuev 9
5. Nick Fitz 8
6t. Paul Sklar 7
6t. Tyler Johnson 7
8. David Boutillier 6
8t. LeRoy Popowski 6
Also:
Brent Ruegamer 5, Jeremiah Mushen 5, Daniel Ourada 4, David Picciano 2, Craig Reese 1


US Women
1. Sharon Knecht 17
2. Anne Preisig 16
3. Tracey Swenson 11
4. Kristin Armstrong 10
5. Michael Tobin 9
6. Marjan Huizing 8
7. Anissa Seguin 7
8. Linda Gabor 5
9. Alison Hayden 3